Too Late
by yorkenshire
Summary: Nightwing's regular patrol turns into a tragedy. Some Nightwing/Starfire at the end.


A bang and a scream were all he heard.

It had been a fairly quiet patrol until then, with only the sound of traffic and the pitter patter of light rainfall on the pavement.

Nightwing raced toward the noise, feet splashing in puddles as he ran. He skidded to a stop at the scene- a man in his mid-twenties holding a gun, standing over a woman of the same age, clutching her stomach, blood pooling beneath her hand.

Upon Nightwing's arrival, the man cursed and pointed the weapon at him. Nightwing immediately side-stepped out of the line of fire before grabbing the gun with one hand and bringing down his other elbow on the man's arm. The man cried out. Nightwing whacked him across the temple with the butt of the pistol, knocking him out.

Nightwing knelt by the girl, who was slowly fading out of consciousness.

"He...wanted...kill me," the girl breathed. Her eyes squeezed shut in pain.

"Hey hey no talking little lady, "Nightwing soothed. "You're going to be alright." He put his hand over her's and pressed in order to add more pressure. He lifted his other hand to his earpiece.

"Oracle, send an ambulance and the police to my location right now!" Nightwing ordered.

"Copy that, Nightwing," Oracle replied instantly.

The girl's eyes were drooping, and her breaths were getting fainter.

"Hey hey stay with me, beautiful," Nightwing urged, his voice wavering. He knew the wound was critical, but he forced himself to stay calm for her.

"I don't even know your name," he said as he stroked her dirty blonde hair.

"Leanne, " the girl whispered.

"Well, Leanne, my name's Nightwing. Pleased to meet you, although it could have been under better circumstances," he joked.

Leanne smiled at him weakly.

"Hey, there's a smile!" Nightwing grinned. It faded quickly as she moaned in pain.

Where was the damn ambulance? They usually didn't take this long.

"Oracle, what's the hold up?" he asked frantically.

"They're going as fast as they can, Nightwing. You're all the way on the other side of town," Oracle said.

"Damn it," he muttered. In his frustration he hadn't noticed Leanne wasn't moving.

"No no no no." He gently shook her. "Leanne? Leanne, come on don't give up on me."

He laid her down flat on the ground of the cold alley and started chest compressions.

"Come on, Leanne breathe!" he ordered. He opened her blood-stained mouth, put his over it and blew.

Two agonizing minutes went by as he pushed his hands on her chest over and over again. He could hear the sirens approaching.

When the ambulance finally arrived, he knew they were too late.

"Can't you imbeciles drive any faster?" he screamed at the EMTs as they hurried to Leanne. Nightwing faced the alley wall, putting his hands on the cold bricks in an attempt to calm down.

Then they declared her dead.

He pounded the side of one his fists into the wall.

"This is your fault!" he yelled at the EMTs. "If you had gotten here faster...if..." he faltered. If _I_ had gotten here faster.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. It was the police chief.

"Son, it's time for you to go home. We'll get your statement in the morning," he said softly to Nightwing.

Nightwing's shoulder's slumped in resignation as he nodded slowly.

By the time he reached his apartment, it was 1 AM. He usually got home from patrols by 11, midnight at the latest.

Shit. He silently prayed Starfire was asleep instead of up worrying about him. He felt guilty for not informing her he would be late.

He tip-toed into the apartment, quietly shutting the door behind him. He stealthily started to make his way to the bedroom, but jolted to a stop at the sight of his wife sitting in the living room with a steaming mug in her hands.

She set the mug down on the coffee table when she saw him.

"Babs told me what happened," she said softly. "Are you okay?"

He didn't answer her. He didn't know how to. Instead, he slowly peeled off his mask, revealing his cobalt eyes that were filled with tears.

Starfire's green ones widened with concern. "Oh, Richard."

He fell to his knees in front of her and buried his face in her lap, sobbing. She immediately caressed his damp, raven locks and stroked his back as he cried.

He lifted his face. "It was my fault... I didn't...I couldn't..." he choked.

"Shhh," Starfire crooned, stroking his hair. "It was not your fault, my love. The fault belongs solely to the evil man who did this," she said firmly.

Richard didn't argue with her. He just cried until he had no tears left, and then took a deep breath. Starfire cupped his face and used her thumbs to wipe some of the stray tears.

Richard took another deep breath. "I love you," he sighed.

Starfire leaned her forehead against his. "I love you too," she replied softly. Then she stood up, took his hand, and led them to the bedroom.


End file.
